The Mets have gotten serious about trading R.A. Dickey as soon as this week, sources tell ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark.

According to Stark, the Rangers and Royals are seen as the most logical fit for the Mets in a deal for Dickey.

Matthew Cerrone, Lead Writer

The buzz in KC is that the Royals will first look to sign a free agent pitcher, specifically Anibal Sanchez. If that fails, they’ll turn to the trade market. They’re willing to move a hitter to get a front-end starting pitcher. Teams (like the Mets and Rays) will almost certainly ask for Billy Butler, Eric Hosmer and top hitting prospect Wil Myers, who, for now, the Royals say are not available.

I was told last week that the Royals had more interest in Jon Niese, but the reporting elsewhere seems to suggest otherwise. Dickey has one year left, and he’s sort of a mystery, and 38 years old. Niese is a lefty, young and under an affordable contract, so I got to think he’s more capable of delivering a high-quality bat than Dickey.